Access to Information Orders
Decision Information
• Request for records related to environmental impact of proposed industrial quarry.
• Section 45(4)(c) (fee waiver) – denial of waiver upheld.
Decision Content
NATURE OF THE APPEAL:
The City of Hamilton (the City) received a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to records related to a proposed industrial quarry. The request was filed on behalf of a community group (the Group) and sought:
… all records in the possession of the City, respecting water, geological, natural features or ecological functions for:
lands or waters on or within a 5 kilometre radius of Lots 2 & 3 and Part of Lot 1, Concession 11 East, in the former Township of East Flamborough, now the City of Hamilton, Ontario.
In general, our request is intended to include but is not limited to photographs, maps, reports, reviews, assessments, classifications, evaluations, studies, policies, guidelines, correspondence (including memoranda, notes to file, letters, e-mail, faxes, meeting minutes), and any other information of the above.
Upon receiving the request, City staff suggested that it might be useful for the requester to discuss the matter with other City departments, either to narrow the scope or to obtain records available through routine disclosure. Staff from the City’s Public Works Department (Water and Wastewater Division) subsequently provided some assistance in the clarification of the request.
In consultation with the Public Works and Planning and Development departments, the City prepared an initial fee estimate of $1740.00, which was comprised of 58 hours of search time by staff in several divisions. However, the fee estimate did not include other divisions that might ultimately participate in the search and did not include fees for preparation and copying of any records identified as responsive.
After this fee estimate was issued, the requester sought to work with City staff to narrow the scope of the request. Communication by letter and email, as well as a meeting between the requester and key City staff members, was successful in narrowing the request to focus on information related to the potential impact of the proposed industrial quarry on the local water table and water quality.
The City issued an interim access decision in May 2005, releasing a first batch of responsive records comprising 994 pages to the requester upon partial payment of a fee.
The City issued its final access decision in August, advising the requester that the remaining records identified as responsive to the revised request totaled approximately 788 pages. The City conveyed its intention to apply the mandatory third party information exemption (section 10(1)) and the discretionary solicitor-client privilege exemption (section 12) to withhold 157 pages in their entirety. The City informed the requester that the personal information of individual homeowners would be severed from eight additional pages pursuant to the mandatory personal privacy exemption (section 14(1)) prior to their release.
The City also advised the requester that the final fee had been calculated as $1,100.50 and provided details regarding the calculation of this amount as follows:
Records search 23 hours and 20 minutes @ $ 7.50 per 15 minutes = $ 700.00
Records preparation 15 minutes @ $7.50 for 15 minutes = $ 7.50
Copy of 994 pages @ 20 cents per page (Interim decision records) = $ 198.80
Duplicate 6 CDs at $10 each = $ 60.00
Sever 8 pages @ 2 minutes per page @ $7.50 per 15 minutes = $ 8.00
Copy 631 pages @ 20 cents per page (Final decision records) = $ 126.20
Sub-Total $ 1,100.50
Less search fee deposit (February 8, 2005) (350.00)
Less interim decision payment (May 16, 2005) (266.30)
Balance due $484.20
The requester paid the balance of the fee and received the second batch of records from the City. He then submitted a request to the City to waive the entire fee associated with providing access, on the basis that dissemination of the requested information would benefit public health or safety, as contemplated by section 45(4)(c) of the Act.
After reviewing the requester’s submissions on fee waiver, the City issued a decision, advising that it would not grant the waiver.
The requester, now the appellant, appealed the City’s decision.